Did you know cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in England? With the rise of a sedentary lifestyle, processed foods and more, there are more risks and threats than ever to your heart, one of the most essential organs in your body.
The truth is, you have to look after your heart with a lot of exercise, good foods and a healthy lifestyle. No matter your age, you should prioritise your heart, treat it like one of your best assets.
Today in this post, learn everything you need to know about your cardiovascular health, external things that impact it and how to improve it.
The effect cardio has on the body
While strength training is important, so is cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is known to provide the following benefits to your body:
Stronger heart rate
Regular cardiovascular exercise can help you have a stronger heart. In other words, your heart can pump blood more efficiently and with less effort.
Better functioning blood vessels
Cardiovascular health can improve the flexibility of your blood vessels, reducing stiffness in the arteries. The more cardio you do, the greater the production of nitric oxide, helping widen the blood vessels and lower your blood pressure.
Reduced risk of chronic diseases
Frequent cardiovascular exercise can help lower your risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.
Improved mental health
A good cardiovascular workout session can significantly trigger the release of a “feel-good hormone” known as endorphins. As a result, you may feel happier, have increased self-esteem and a positive outlook on life after an exercise session. It may also improve sleep, helping you fall asleep quicker.
Reduced inflammation
Frequent cardiovascular exercise can lower inflammation in your body, reducing your chronic disease risk. It can also increase your life expectancy and lower your risk of premature death from such diseases.
The top 3 things that impact cardio health
While all of us can get out and do cardiovascular exercise to better our quality of life and cardiovascular health, it’s important to be mindful of other factors that may affect it. To help you stay in peak form, here are 3 to be conscious of:
1.Smoking
First things first, you’ll want to avoid smoking at all costs. A lot of cardiovascular exercise is heavily dependent on your lungs and can help increase your breathing capacity. However, if you regularly smoke, the chemicals in the cigarette can damage your lungs, making it harder to breathe and work out. Moreover, smoking reduces the number of blood vessels in your body. It can increase carbon monoxide levels, replacing oxygen in the blood, limiting the oxygen supply to essential muscles and tissues during exercise.
2. Unhealthy diet
Diets high in saturated foods such as salt, sugar and fat can increase your cholesterol, blood pressure and likelihood of obesity, putting a strain on your heart. Often processed foods are high in salt, triggering water retention, an increase in blood pressure and place a major strain on your heart and blood vessels.
3. Excessive alcohol use
Too much alcohol can impair your cardiovascular system. More than the recommended allowance of alcohol consumption a week is shown to increase your risk of weight gain, hypertension, stroke and a heart attack.
Natural ways to improve and support your cardiovascular health
Improving and strengthening your cardiovascular health is not rocket science. There’s a range of natural ways you can start implementing immediately to ensure you increase your lung capacity, reduce your stroke risk, heart attack risk and live a better quality of life; they are:
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Eat a healthy diet: Try to eat a single-ingredient diet full of natural food, fruits and vegetables. Whenever possible, cut out salt, processed food and sugars to manage your blood pressure.
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Exercise frequently: At the very minimum, engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week. This could be running, swimming, cycling, brisk walking, tennis, football, HIIT workouts and more to encourage circulation and heart efficiency. If you have a smart watch, working out at your zone 2 heart rate is often best to enhance your cardiovascular health. Remember, don’t neglect your strength training. Having strong supporting muscles can increase the efficiency of your cardiovascular system.
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Practice relaxation techniques: To look after your cardiovascular health, you should be as relaxed as possible. This means staying on top of your stress levels. Chronic stress can increase your blood pressure and impact your cardiovascular health. Simple exercises like breathing, mindfulness and massages can help lower stress and support heart health.
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Get sufficient sleep: If you don’t get at least 7-9 hours of sleep a night, there’s a risk of experiencing high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. All of these can put a strain on your heart and contribute to heart disease.
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Be conscious of your alcohol intake: Try to limit your alcohol intake or avoid it completely. Drink only within the recommended limits of 14 units per week at maximum (NHS).
Supplements that support
In addition to living a healthy lifestyle, at Herb-ology, we have some supplements that may support your cardiovascular health.
Aged black garlic
Aged Black Garlic is a vegan supplement high in antioxidants. There’s a lot of scientific research behind black garlic showing that it can help improve cardiac function, increase antioxidant levels and reduce oxidative stress. Aged black garlic can also help relax blood vessels, encourage blood flow and improve blood pressure.
Apple Cider Vinegar Capsules
Another supplement you should consider adding to your diet is Apple Cider Vinegar capsules. These capsules are vegetarian and are associated with numerous benefits. A series of meta-analysis’s have shown apple cider vinegar can lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the bloodstream.
Wrapping up your cardiovascular health
To summarise, your cardiovascular health is important for you to live a good quality of life. Having a good cardiovascular system reduces your risk of inflammation, chronic diseases, improves mental health and allows your body to function better.
Staying on top of your cardiovascular health isn’t too difficult. All you need to do is eat healthy, exercise at a moderate intensity, avoid alcohol and smoking, and try to stay less stressed.
Moreover, adding supplements to your diet, like Aged Black Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar Capsules, may help support your cardiovascular health.
Remember, your heart isn’t the only organ you need to prioritise; another one you must protect is your brain. Learn here- How to optimise your brain power.
